Confessions of Moms Around the World

Apr 01, 2015
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29 videos
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The Atlantic

In some European countries, women get luxurious maternity leave, steeply discounted daycare, and flexible working hours so they can run to parent-teacher meetings in the middle of the afternoon. And yet, when I travel, I still encounter moms who feel stressed and under-appreciated. Meanwhile, in the developing world, I’ve met mothers living in difficult circumstances whose hopes and dreams for their children align pretty closely with those of middle-class Americans.

That made us curious about how geography and culture affect the experience of motherhood. We interviewed 10 moms living in various countries and asked them what it’s like to be them and what makes motherhood in their country unique. Their answers speak volumes about how our families and communities can influence the way we raise our children. And they might make American moms wonder whether they should really be jealous of Swedish women and their supposedly ultra-egalitarian husbands.